Halo 3:Last Stand
by Halofan
Summary: This story starts up where Halo 2 left off. Please review
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own any products of the Halo franchise.

A/N: Just to let you know in advance, you might realize that some of my views were changed from the game in this prologue, mostly because I thought they would suit my story a little better. Please review.

Prologue

The battle raged on between the Jiralhanae and the combat forms of the Flood at the docking station of the Ark. Gratinus was the commanding officer of his Jiralhanae unit, which was ordered to protect the docking station until the ship took off. His unit had done a good job swatting away any Unngoy that tried to sneak onto the sacred ship, but they had not expected a swarm of Flood combat forms to crash a human dropship into the station and start to destroy his task force. The Jiralhanae under Gratinus' orders shot, smashed, and even cut the combat forms down but they kept getting back up as if nothing happened.

Gratinus saw one of the combat forms make a break for the grav lift leading to the Ark and quickly fumbled for a grenade on his belt. He finally got a hold of it, pressing the activation button almost immediately and then tossed it at the combat form. It stuck onto the back of the Flood specimen's head and Gratinus exhaled a sigh of relief as the combat form exploded, his human host's innards staining the fur of the Jiralhanae around the blast radius.

The Jiralhanae commander looked around the small battlefield and saw the numbers of his troops depleting. "Fall back to grav lift," barked Gratinus in English. His units were confused and Gratinus soon corrected himself and spoke in his native tongue to the rest of his squad. The Prophets had taken a liking to the despicable human language and had forced all the high ranking officers to learn it and soon they would make the whole population learn the language as well. Gratinus had often caught himself speaking in the demonic language in mistake for his own.

His squad understood his new orders and fell back to the grav lift, firing their weapons at the approaching Flood forces. Gratinus started to back up to the grav lift as well and noticed some ammo for his personal grenade launcher. He took the ammo from his fallen brethren and reloaded.

The combat forms continued to push on but their forces were finally winding down as well but the unthinkable happened in front of Gratinus' eyes. The grav lift at the far end of the docking station, coming from the Prophet's inner sanctum, spat out the Demon the Covenant feared so much.

The Demon didn't waste anytime as he started to fire his two weapons at an incredible rate. The ammo the humans used tore through the combat forms approaching the Jiralhanae and his units. The combat forms fell quickly. Gratinus was about to order his squad to kill the Demon but they had already started firing. It had become a sort of sixth sense for all covenant units to shoot at the Demon without orders, something that was favored by some commanding officers and hated by others.

The human, however, dodged the grenades and plasma bolts with ease and started to turn his attention to the Jiralhanae beside Gratinus. His units fell from the projectiles much quicker than Gratinus had expected but then he remembered that the combat forms might have shot his men a few times.

Gratinus charged the Demon with his bayonet attached to his grenade launcher but the human side-stepped and drew one of the Sangheili's famed energy swords and started to slash at Gratinus. The officer narrowly dodged the blade but he could feel some of his skin burn.

The Jiralhanae commander tried to hit the Demon with the blade on the underside of his weapon but the Demon was too fast. The human got behind Gratinus and plunged the energy sword through his back and out his chest.

The Jiralhanae looked down at the sword and saw the blood being evaporated by the plasma sword as it tried ooze down his chest. The human pulled the sword out of his body and then the blood started to flow through the two identical holes in Gratinus' back and chest. Gratinus fell to his knees and screamed his last words in resonating English, "Glory to the Prophets!" The commander fell down to his stomach and watched the Demon board the Ark.

The Arbiter had finally caught up to Tartarus in the control room, but the mad "Brute" Chieftain had started the sacred ring's weapon even after he heard what the monitor had to say.

Tartarus had leaped to the complex in the center of the room and left his Jiralhanae soldiers to combat the Arbiter. It mattered not to the scarred Sangheili because no matter what Tartarus left for him, he would make the Jiralhanae chieftain pay for his actions.

The Arbiter charged the Jiralhanae, activating his energy sword halfway to the enemy. The Jiralhnae fired their grenade launchers but the Sangheili's sword swatted the grenades away into the abyss to their sides. The Arbiter reached the units and slashed his sword diagonally down onto one of the Jiralhnae's chest. The smell of the burning hair penetrated the Arbiter's nose but he continued slashing the chieftain's soldier until he fell to the ground.

The Arbiter quickly turned around to fight another but saw that the Sangheili rebels had already joined the fray. The four Sangheili he first saw were decorated with gold armor and made quick work of the Jiralhanaes that tried to stop them from approaching. The Arbiter spoke to the other rebels, "My Sangheili brethren, I will fight Tartarus alone and I know this may sound suicidal but I have my own personal needs that have to be fulfilled here."

One of the Sangheili almost spoke up but was interrupted by the human named Johnson, "Well then, enough of that, go kill the damn monkey already."

The Arbiter nodded and then turned around and ran off the ledge. The Arbiter flowed through the air and rolled into his landing on the complex. He activated his sword again and this time heard the crackling noise louder than he ever had before. He ran around the barricade he was behind and moved into the center of the complex. There was a grav lift in the center of platform and there were four symmetrical barricades to the one he was just behind, and there was also some weapon containers spread out across the floor. He could now see Tartarus charging at him from the right with his hammer held up high.

Tartarus brought down his hammer onto the Arbiter but the Sangheili reacted just in time to roll out of the way. The hammer created some shockwaves of energy that brought his shield down halfway._ It would have been a lot worse if I didn't move_. "

The Jiralhnae chieftain didn't take a break though, and already had his hammer swinging sideways at the Arbiter's head before the Sangheili could even lift his weapon. He ducked this time and dodged all the plasma shockwaves and watched as his shield recharged.

Tartarus recovered from his swing and backed up a step and stood up straight. "Answer this for me Arbiter; How did you survive that fall?" asked the Jirahlnae with a smile spread across his face.

The Sangheili questioned in his mind why Tartarus would create small talk but then responded, "It seems someone besides the humans has a score to settle with the Prophets," said the Arbiter, raising his sword as he spoke, "I guess this someone had taken a liking to me and the Demon and thought we could stop the Prophets plan."

The chieftain's smile turned into a disgusted look. "You ally yourself with the Demon," said Tartarus, as he started to run for the Arbiter, hammer held up high, "You really are vermin!"

The Arbiter started to run as well readying his sword for a swing. The Arbiter was done with words and it seemed the same for the chieftain. They both screamed their battle cries and then swung their weapons at the same time. Tartarus swung his hammer from the side while the Arbiter swung his blade from the side as well.

Tartarus swatted the Arbiter away from him with his hammer and watched as the crumpled Sangheili, gasped for breath. He then felt something weird in his neck and felt it. He touched a gash and quickly pulled his hand back and looked at the blood on his fingers. The great chieftain cursed in his native tongue and then fell to the ground, dead.

The Arbiter slowly got up, coughing up blood and watched his shields recharge. He looked down at the dead chieftain and looked up to see the female human grab the icon. Maybe things were finally looking up.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Bungie, Microsoft, and anyone else responsible for making the Halo series come to life.

Chapter 1

"Finishing this fight, sir," said John. The Spartan had boarded the forerunner ship and was stuck in the storage facility.

"Excuse me son?" replied the Admiral over the com. John could hear Admiral Hood's breathing and the sigh that followed it up.

The chief couldn't take the silence anymore, "Orders sir?" The Admiral thought about it for a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity to John. The answer finally came.

"Give em hell." The line cut off and the Master Chief immediately went to work. John checked his weapons first. He had two SMGs slung over his shoulders, two M6C pistols, and a covenant energy sword. He also kept a combat knife in his ankle sheath. He checked his ammo supply as well and grimaced behind his helmet. The chief had no ammo left for his SMGs and only had two clips left for his pistols. John stuck the energy sword between his ammo belt and shield and grabbed the two pistols.

The Spartan looked at the only door in the room and approached it with both pistols fixed at the center of the door. John had been trained to take precautions, especially when exiting doors because there was always a blind spot.

The Master Chief came close to the door and watched the lines blink once, signaling the remaining parts of the door to separate. John took a deep breath and ran out the doors with both his pistols facing the two opposite directions.

A jackal entered his peripheral vision, and started to pull his plasma pistol from his belt. John turned to face the jackal and let out two shots from his pistols. Both shots penetrated the Jackal's head and sprayed blood across the walls and floor.

The chief slowly approached the Jackal and grabbed the energy shield on its belt. John put one of his pistols away and turned the shield on. The Spartans had never favored the Jackal's shields in combat, not only because they already had shields, but because they were too small. They had saved John's life once on Sigma Octanus IV from a Hunter's fuel rod gun, but they were only effective when a human was crouching.

John moved around the corner, near the Jackal's body, and turned into an empty hallway with one door at the end. John looked at the ship's walls and made a mental comparison between them and the covenant's. _They may be just walls, but it really exploits the Covenant's imitation tactics._

The Spartan approached the door with his one gun up again and walked through to find three Brutes waiting.

Admiral Hood had just lost contact with the chief when the _Cairo_ took another plasma torpedo to its port side.

"Port armor breached," said Lieutenant Danes, "Fires started on Decks 4 through 9. Sealing breach and venting decks."

_The good news keeps rolling in._ Admiral Hood looked at the view screens and saw the Covenant bastards that just shot his vessel. "Fire the MAC at the Covenant ship on the port side. I want archer missile pods A1 through D4 to hit a second later."

"Yes sir," replied Ensign Danes. The Danes brothers worked well together on the bridge. It was even said they were on the bridge at Sigma Octanus IV and shot down four covenant ships. "Missiles away," The Ensign waited and then readied his hand over the MAC trigger. "Firing MAC."

The huge round shaked the_ Cairo_ and let out a huge boom that resonated through the halls of the craft. Hood looked at the Covenant ship and watched as the MAC round smashed into its shields, making them flicker and dissipate.The missiles flew in a second later and erupted in flames all over the ship's hull. "Damage report on that ship Lieutenant." Hood demanded.

"It looks like it is still functional with some breaches to it's…" Lieutenant Danes was cut off by a roar of laughter on the bridge. On the view screen, the ship was completely destroyed by an orbital MAC. The Lieutenant laid back in his chair and turned to face the Admiral, "Talk about overkill. Right sir?" Danes questioned with a full smile on his face.

_Sure was_ thought Hood. The Admiral knew there would be more though. "That blast is no reason for celebration. Now if you don't mind, I would rather not be sitting here while another covenant bastard lines up a shot at us." The bridge crew settled down and Hood sat back in his own chair. "Now Ensign, find me another covenant ship and send them back to the hell they came from."

And as if on cue, a slipspace portal opened up and dumped out three Covenant flagships. Hood bit his lip and reached for the com one more time.

The brutes had been proving much more difficult to handle than John originally thought. The behemoths were wielding staffs with laser blades at the tip. The chief had seen them before, but they were being held by Elites rather than Brutes. John did remember seeing Brutes being attacked by Elites and vice-versa on High Charity. _Maybe some sort of rebellion_. John quickly squelched the thought as one of the Brutes swung the blade end of the staff at John.

Master Chief raised his Jackal shield to deflect the hit. The staff cut through the shield and sent John flying through the air. John rolled into his landing and pulled his second pistol from his belt. He fired both weapons at the Brutes and one finally fell as a bullet punctured his eye. The chief turned to his right to see a Brute charging on all four legs. John prepared himself for the hit when something shimmered in his sight. He looked at the shine and saw a plasma grenade on the dead Brute's belt. John leaped for the grenade and fell right in front of the belt. He quickly grabbed the grenade, pressed the detonation button, and turned around to see the Brute on top of him. The Covenant warrior held the chief firmly while the other came up with his staff's laser side pointing at John.

The Master Chief shoved the grenade onto the Brute on top of him and kicked him off. The Brute backed up, stunned, and exploded, leaving a splatter of blood on the ground. John got back and reached for his SMGs. He targeted the Covenant beast and fired full auto. His ammo meter drained right in front of John's eyes but the Brute wouldn't stop charging. Then, it clicked empty.

John braced for impact but then heard a voice in his helmet. "Chief!" said the static-filled voice of Admiral Hood, "If you can hear this, I need you to do something. It's getting pretty hectic down here and that ship you're on isn't helping much so if you don't mind, speed things up a bit up there."

That was all John needed to hear. He dropped his two SMGs and pulled the sword from his belt. He clicked it to life and the Brute stopped in its tracks. The chief charged the Brute and reached him within seconds. He circled behind him and put the energy sword to the Brute's throat. He spoke into the beast's ear, "Where is the control room?"

The Brute tried to resist but John brought the sword close enough so that the hair was starting to burn. "You're in it, Demon." John slashed its throat and looked at the three-person control room. _Where the hell is Cortana when you need her?_


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: I do not own Halo or any of it's products

Chapter 2

Guilty Spark had to think about the question for a second to answer. "My creators never encrypted such valuable information into my memory system." The monitor could read the facial expressions on the two humans as well as he could read data. The reclaimers were both disappointed in Guilty Spark.

"Excuse me oracle," said the Elite behind the reclaimers, "Is there anyplace where we find out where this 'Ark' is?"

_ Oracle._ Spark had researched the definition of the word thousands of times, but he never understood why the Covenant kept calling him this. What also puzzled the monitor was that this particular Elite was wearing forerunner armor. Of course, it was modified to fit the Elite's body. Spark returned to the section of his memory that could answer the Elite's question.

"Actually," replied the monitor, "In the control room on installation 01, there is information on the Ark and where it is located."

"Then the Covenant's already got their slimy hands on that info," exclaimed Johnson. The frail reclaimer looked up at the Elite, "Sorry."

The Elite turned away from the reclaimer and faced Guilty Spark again. "Actually, our Covenant fleet had been ordered to find the ring," claimed the Elite, "We had no luck and then were ordered to…"

"Destroy Reach?" questioned Miranda. The female reclaimer, at times, had been much more masculine than the male reclaimer, but the monitor had noticed this trend with his experiences with the past reclaimer and his own monitor. Guilty Spark had looked through Miranda's neural implant and used it to look at the main database. He had been given resistance by similar monitors to the one he met on installation 04, but he quickly immobilized them. Spark found out that the monitors he had seen were actually made by a whole race of reclaimers on some planet called "Earth." The name had sounded familiar but he shrugged the idea off.

"Yes," responded the Elite, "But the thing I was trying to say was that that ring hasn't been found yet." Guilty Spark tried to prove what the Elite said was true, but he couldn't get enough information from the resources he had.

"Then you don't mind oh holy oracle, if you tell us where this ring is," said Johnson, with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. The monitor was pleased that he could answer the reclaimer's question.

Corporal Alec Rines had been stuck in the damn scarab while the Sergeant and that Elite charged in guns a blazing. The stench of the methane coming from the grunts continuously playing with their tank nozzles was driving him mad. Alec cocked back his M6D and watched the grunts scramble for cover. They cursed at him and went to the upper level of the scarab. Alec smirked and headed upstairs as well.

"Where the hell are you going?" screamed the private manning the scarab. Alec hadn't known him before and with all honestly didn't care if he ever did.

"Upstairs," responded the Corporal, "Gotta check on those covenant bastards, private." The private looked away from Alec after the last comment and went back to his station.

While Alec walked, he saw his relfection in the small mirror. _Someone must have brought it on._ Alec tried to walk away, but he couldn't help looking at himself. He had definitely changed since he was at home. His old life was peaceful. He had lived in New York City. He was actually surprised at the few numbers there were at Earth boot camp. Of course, he did realize it wasn't exactly everyone's dream to fight aliens.

Killing aliens was always one of the Corporal's dreams. When he had heard of the invasion, he nearly fainted with excitement. The only problem was, the military didn't recruit assassins. Alec had to get a new identity to join the army, or else he was going to be hunted like the aliens he wanted to kill. Alec was actually lucky enough to find someone in New York that had his name and looked very similar to him. He quickly did away with this other Alec and made a few hair adjustments. Within one day, Alec had joined the military.

The Corporal shook himself out of his flashback and walked upstairs. He looked out into the sky and took a deep breath. The air was so clean on Delta Halo. A weird smell entered Alec's nose and looked around for the grunts. Then a Covenant Cruiser eclipsed the sun above Alec and engulfed the Scarab in shadows.


End file.
